The coach said an additional 12-15 players from the sophomore, junior and seniors classes have been participating in offseason workouts who did not play in 2016. That could particularly pay dividends on the offensive and defensive lines, where Springfield was outmatched against some of its tougher opponents last season.

After fielding a squad of 61 last season, Douglass expects to have closer to 80 players this season (not counting freshmen).

2. There will be a new quarterback.

Leonard Taylor was quite a sight taking snaps as a 6-5, 260-pound quarterback last season.

He provided stability at the position in the second half of the year after throwing a game-winning hail mary touchdown pass in the closing seconds against Centerville, but Douglass expects someone else to take the snaps this season.

Senior Tyler Carter and sophomore Kendrick Holt (who started two games last season but threw too many interceptions) are going to compete for the job with Diante Lesperance potentially in the mix as well.

Lesperance is a senior who sat out last season after transferring from Wayne.

Although Taylor did an admirable job under center, the team should benefit from its best player being able to concentrate on playing tight end and defensive end instead of learning the finer points of the quarterback position.

For his part, Taylor said he is happy to help the team any way he can.

A four-star prospect, he has slimmed down to about 240 pounds in the offseason as he continues to go through the recruiting process.

Tennessee, Wisconsin, Penn State, Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan and Kentucky are among the schools he is still considering.

4. Who will replace Danny Davis?

Many familiar faces return from last year’s playoff team, but Danny Davis is not one of them. The Wisconsin signee was the team’s biggest offensive threat, leading the 7-4 Wildcats in rushing (1,200 yards) and receiving (470 yards on 20 catches).

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